Tutoring Clinton children, building Habitat homes and supplying Christmas presents to needy youngsters through the Angel Tree project, the Mississippi College family is dedicated to community service.

Thanks to strong support year-round from faculty, staff and students, Mississippi College was recently named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The Christian university was among a half-dozen Mississippi institutions receiving the national honor for 2013.

“Service is an integral part of our mission and through the efforts of students, faculty and staff, MC is helping create a community where serving others is as natural as taking a test,” says Eric Pratt, vice president for Christian Development.

MC faculty, staff and students logged over 45,000 hours of service with more than 153 different agencies in 2011-2012, says the report from the Corporation for National and Community Service. Launched in 2006, the honor roll annually highlights the work of colleges and universities to solve community problems and place more students on a lifetime path of civic engagement.

The 2013 Honor Roll recipients were announced at the 95th annual meeting of the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C.

The national Honor Roll recognition “is confirmation that Mississippi College promotes the development of students academically, socially, emotionally, physically and spiritually,” Pratt said.

Shari Barnes, director of MC’s Community Service Center, estimates that more than 2,400 people participate in community service projects at the Baptist-affiliated institution each year.

And the numbers at Mississippi College continue to grow, Barnes said. “But we can always use more volunteers.”

MC’s United Way efforts to assist agencies in Rankin, Hinds and Madison counties are led by President Lee Royce, Barnes and others. For several years, Mississippi College ranked No. 1 among metro Jackson colleges and universities in terms of United Way contributions every fall.

Reports from the Corporation for National & Community Service show that 3.1 million college students across the USA engage in community service. The students clocked 118 million community service hours and the dollar value of their work as volunteers has climbed to $2.5 billion.

Mississippi College students seeking to serve as volunteers should contact Shari Barnes at the Community Service Center at 601.925.3267 or sbarnes@mc.edu.

Contact Andy Kanengiser, University News Coordinator, at 601.925.7760 or at kanengis@mc.edu.